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Volume 1, Number 1

Volume 1, Number 1 January, 2021

Volume 1, Number 5 May, 2021

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Published once each month Dick Bowling, Editor Dickson Owusu, Proof Reader

Ann Coook,

Weekly Supplement, Editor

For monthly Newsletter submissions:

Bring articles, poetry, and other media to Apt. 147, or dickbowling777@gmail.com.

Bring weekly supplement submissions to Apt. 235 or acookonwheels@msn.com

The Restful Resident

In This Issue:

Executive Direc- tor’s Report Nurses Station

A Spirituality to Grow Old By Poetry: A Belief

A Bit O’Fun with Bill McShea Meet Our Staff Residents & Staff Birthdays

Pree’s Activities

Resident’s Inter- view

The Editor’s Hangout

P. 3:

P. 4:

P. 5:

P. 6:

P. 7:

P. 8:

P.9:

P. 11:

Chesterbrook Residences Monthly Newsletter

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A

LTHOUGHlast forever, I must admit that it has gone by quickly and I can’t IT SEEMED AS IF THE MONTHOF APRIL WOULD believe the summer will soon be upon us. As you may know, at Chesterbrook Residences our mission is improve the quality of life for the residents. Many of you last year brought to my attention that the Wi-Fi connection has been spotty. Thankfully, we were able to up- grade the Wi-Fi connection throughout the community for a reliable connection. I also wanted to bring to your attention that the Chester- brook Resident Council will be restarting their monthly meetings this month. I hope to see you all in the meeting. I am happy to announce that the Ombudsman, Ms. Bonnie Jean will be returning to Chester- brook. As an Ombudsman, Bonnie is a public advocate who is usually

appointed by the Fairfax County government to ensure Resident Rights are met. Let us all en- joy this warm weather and send our prayers for those that are still being affected by this pan- demic.

The Executive Director’s Report

My name is Santiguie Tarawalie. I’m from Sier- ra Leone West Africa. My father has three wives and fathered eight children; my mother was one of his wives and I am her only child. I love music and soccer is my

favorite sport. I came to the United States on December 15, 2002 under the diversity program as a legal resident.

My first job in the United States was a dietary assistant (aide); from dietary aide, I went to nursing assistant. I love working with the Geriat- ric population because they

remind me of my parents who inspired me to enroll in the nursing career I enrolled in a private nursing school on N. Quaker Ln. in Al- exandria, VA from 2005 to 2006 and graduat- ed in 2007 as a Licensed Practical Nurse.

Since then I’ve been working as a nurse and love what I am doing.

I am married with five kids: three girls and two boys. My father is still alive but my mom passed away in 1992. I am a Muslim by religion I do my five daily prayers and observe the

month of Ramadan every year. I am new to Chester- brook Residence and am happy to join the residents and staff of Chesterbrook.

I look forward to working with all of you; my advice to Chesterbrook residents is to continue to wear a mask, follow the CDC guidelines and we will surely overcome this pan-

demic. I hope this will give Chesterbrook residents a chance to know me better, and I am looking forward to knowing all the Chester- brook residents and staff.

Vijay Maharajan

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A Spirituality to Grow Old By

The way spring gradually creeps out flower by flower, leaf by leaf, plant by plant can be sneaky. We look up all of a sudden and it is there in all its glory. But it could have been even more beautiful and enriching if we had watched it growing moment by moment. I have a friend who brags that he often doesn’t know it is fall until the first snowfall.

As I enter more into my later years, I find the only real regrets are the

questions my heart raises for me about whether I was fully awake and present at the time of so many of the most beautiful memories I have. They shine brightly and console me when I treasure so many stunning moments in my long life but “just wonder” whether my mind and conscious- ness were really there and sharp or was I somewhere else.

It leads me to seek more presence and consciousness in these later years—treasuring them to the full before they end up in the memory machine, we all have. It isn’t so much an intentional anxiety which would make me even less present to the moment, but a letting go of something inside me. One great woman saint said that our growth in holiness, awareness and mindfulness doesn’t come by doing more things, but much more often in stopping things we have been doing for a long time—bad habits of “trying too hard”?

With a little more time that I have now than in my heavy working years, I feel less those tinges of guilt that “I should be doing something” and “being productive”. So, I just sit down and use every one of my senses to touch, smell, view, listen, and even taste the air as it passes through my mouth and nose. Yes, you can even taste flowers wafting their delicious fragrances into the air (or a good meal cooking close by). I have to make the effort, of course, but what I am doing in my mind is “stopping” not paying attention to my senses that are always in operation no matter where my mind is at the moment.

Nothing gets us more into the present moment than our five senses. It is the senses that “enliven us”. It is even a form of prayer in itself. Hard to praise the creator of this wondrous world if we are locking ourselves into the closet of our mind. That is probably what I mean when I wonder how fully present I was to some of the most touching and enriching moments of my life.

We seem to have a sixth sense that we can easily miss—the feelings of “having a body”. Very strange but true. Actively using our senses to wake us up fully one by one

also awakens the sense of the body that we have, that we are. We begin to feel every part of us and the blood pouring through our veins. We can even feel our breathing in and breathing out—the very gift of breath.

Those of you who are into yoga can teach me many a thing about waking up to this beautiful universe around us and seek to be “fully alive” in it while I am “alive”. A wise person once said that it is hard to wake up someone who doesn’t even know he is asleep and even harder to wake up someone who is pretending to be asleep. In any event, it is simple

enough to wake up on our own to the fullness and beauty of life. Ted Keating, S.M.

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A Belief

I turn to God though I don't know

if I believe

but I know He is there

if only in imagination

and in the words that created us

for we are made of words

If there were no God

we would have to invent Him

and live as if He were

and so it’s all the same

It's easy not to believe

that there is God

but it's hard not to believe

that there is Satan

Henry Grynberg

Photo by: Joy Wagner

niece of our resident Mary Dracoulis).

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The Story of the Unemployed Entrepreneur

. The non-employed man applies for the position of a janitor

at Microsoft. He is interviewed by the H. R. Chief and sub- jected to a battery of employment tests. The H. R. Chief tells him: “Congratulations, you got the job! Just give me your email address so that I can send you an employment package and let you know when to start to work.” The man is distraught… He has no choice but to tell the H. R. Chief that he has no computer and therefore no email. The H. R.

Chief tells him that if he has no email address, he virtually does not exist and therefore cannot hold a job. The man leaves in a desperate mood; he is down to his last $10.00 with no job insight.

He sees a supermarket and decides to buy a 10 pound box of strawberries. He starts out door to door selling the

strawberries by the pound within two hours he manages to double his capital. He repeats the deal three times more and goes home with $60.00 in his pocket; he comes to see he can survive this way. He starts out earlier every day and comes home every day tripling or quadrupling his money every day. Before long he buys a wheelbarrow so he can buy and sell more strawberries; after a while he is able to buy a truck and eventually became the owner of a fleet of deliveries. Five years go by – – – the man is now owner of one of the largest food chains in the U.S.

He starts thinking about the future for him and his family and decides to buy some life in- surance. He calls an agent and selects a good policy; the man asked him for his email address

to send him confirmation of the policy. The man tells him he doesn’t have an email address. “That is incredible,” says the agent. “You have no email but you built this large empire. I can imagine where you would be if you had an email address!” The man briefly thinks then answers, “I would be a toilet cleaner at Microsoft!”

A Bit O’ Fun

With Bill O’Shea

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My name is Keyti Coreas; I am 24 years old, originally from San Miguel El Salvador. I am the oldest daughter in my fami- ly. At this moment I live in Woodbridge with my husband, my mother and my sister.

I was so very happy when I found out we were coming to live in this country; as the days went by, I got to know many different places here in the United States: beaches and parks. It has been an incredible experience.

I will have been working here at Chesterbrook for two

years this June and have met many amazing people. My job is like a housekeeper; I also help with the laundry and wherever my supervisor needs me. I am especially happy to be working with all the seniors here at Chesterbrook.

Meet Our Chesterbrook Staff

Keyti Coreas

Maintenance Department

Debbie Creek 5/5 Lee Peng 5/6 Dorothy Shapiro 5/9 Betty Pickett 5/10 Elise Rosenfeld 5/17 Walter Reitman 5/18 Earl Mitchell 5/24 John Rainbolt 5/24 Ann Lindstrom 5/26

Aminet Hassan 5/2 Solomon Nwokeforo 5/3 Katie Schrum 5/13

Jocelyn Callaway 5/21 Habiba Ahmed 5/24

Sara Garcia 5/25 Yvone Kassa Koumba 5/28 Eric Dance 5/31

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After a long hiatus, a few favorite activities are back on the calendar. From Ping Pong to Bridge and Dollar Store trips to coloring, we are excited to see things open back up step by step. This month, we are shifting some old favorites to make room for more activities. Please look at the monthly calendar for details. The biggest change is that sittercise will move to the multi-purpose room. This will allow space for the big chairs in the media lounge while still so- cial distancing as much as possible. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Every Tuesday at 3:15, we have a guest instructor named Julia teaching Chair Yoga in the multi -purpose room. The class is free for all residents and is a great way for anyone at any fitness level to get some exercise. The movements focus on arms, legs, and core muscles. Julia is kind and reminds everyone to go at a pace that is comfortable—no pressure to perform at a cer- tain level!

For those looking for some hand-eye coordination, join us when we play Ping Pong! It’s also a great thing to watch; we’ve had some great players and cheerleaders this month.

If you’re looking for a card game, several residents play Bridge togeth- er every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 pm in the card room. This will test your memory and strategic skills. Other residents have ex- pressed interest in Rummikub, which is also available in the card room.

For all book enthusiasts, we are starting book club again. Meet in the courtyard at 10:15 on Tuesday, May 4 for the organization meeting.

This is a chance to discuss the types of books you’d like to read with Sally and the group. As always, thank you for your patience, attend- ance, and ideas as we keep finding ways to make the best calendar possible.

Pree

Pree’s Activities

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Resident’s Interview

M

Ygers Derenge. I was born in The NAME IS IRIS ELISABETH Sen- Hague in the Netherlands on April 8, 1941.Less than a year before I was born, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940 and on May 15, (one day after the bombing of Rotterdam,) the Dutch forc- es surrendered. My parents’ names were Betsy and Theo Sengers. I have one sister named Yvonne. Both my mom and my dad were teenagers when I was born. My

mom was 17 and my dad 19. Because of the German occupation, my dad was conscripted into a Nazi labor camp; so for the first five years of my life, I lived with my mother in The Hague.

My father and my mother were origi- nally both tailors. After five years, my mom placed me in a private orphan-

age. When I was in the third grade I attended the Ten Kate School in Amsterdam and went to live with my grandparents. I lived with them until I was about 12, at which time they placed me in Huize Christina orphanage.

When I was 17, I decided to live on my own;

I rented a room next to the Peace Palace in The Hague.

I knew I wanted to learn English and I thought I would have to go to England; then one day, I saw an ad in a magazine for some- one to take care of the newborn twins of a financial attaché to the World Bank in the United States, and I applied. Out of the 60 girls who applied, I was chosen. I went with them to the US on a ship; as we were ap- proaching the United States, there was an announcement that that very day President Kennedy had been shot. This news disturbed

so many on board that a lot of them decided they would return home.

I met my future husband at the International YWCA in Washington, DC. His name was Franklin Derenge, from West Virginia; after we married, we lived in Washington, DC. We

had two boys and have no grand- children. After a while, I took a job with the Hecht Company as a salesclerk. As a teenager, my hus- band worked in the coal mines in West Virginia while studying to became an oceanographer.

Later on I enrolled at George Ma- son University and got a degree in Early Childhood Education and Development. Because of my love for chil- dren, and with this degree, I opened a day care center in our apartment in Washington and ran it for 14 years. (Frank died and I was widowed less than a year ago.)

The countries I have visited in my life are England, France, Belgium and Germany. The places I liked most were Antwerp, Belgium and Paris, France. In Paris, I especially liked the French quarter and of course, the Eiffel Tower.

The following is what I remember about liv- ing under German occupation during World War II: I remember that the Germans sur- rounded The Hague during the

harsh winter of 1944-1945; they imposed se- vere shortages on food and fuel. This

Continued next Page

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Continued from Page 9

resulted in the death of some 20,000 civilians. Many bodies were left lying in the streets. The famine, known as the 'Hunger Winter,’ lasted until the surrender of German forces in May 1945.

Was anyone in your family famous? My husband’s father was a mine inspector in West Virgin- ia; he once saved 40 miners lives in a mine disaster. This was quite well known and reported locally.

What are you most worried about for your grandnieces and nephews? I am especially wor- ried about climate change. Bangladesh and my home, the Netherlands, are countries below sea level and will go underwater.

For me, black lives matter very much as all lives matter. It was very unusual that George Floyd’s killer was found guilty because many killers of black people are not found guilty. Yes, black lives matter.

One reason I chose Chesterbrook was because of the name: Chesterbrook. For 14 years we picked up children from the Chesterbrook Montessori School and brought them to my day- care center. Also, there was one little boy in my daycare who had a fish named Chester and I thought that was awfully cute.

I am very comfortable here and what I like most about Chesterbrook is the people. What I don’t like about Chesterbrook are the rules and regulations. The food is sometimes to my liking; I feel there is way too much pasta on the menu which is not good for me as a diabetic.

For the most part, I find the staff at Chesterbrook friendly and helpful, some more than others.

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[Continued from last month]

Sometime after Christmas, Dad surprised us telling us we’d soon be moving to the South End of Louisville. I was now eight and so excited by the news I could barely stand still. When the big day finally arrived, I was still jumping up and down, “We’re moving to Louisville, moving to Louisville,” I sang, dancing all around. Last spring, Dad had left our old Model ‘A’ quietly rusting away in the barn at Gethsemane. Since we didn’t have a car, Mom asked her brother, Freddy, if he would drive the seven of us to the city. Dad and Jimmy would take the train in later.

(The War still raged; Uncle Freddy was exempt from military service until he finished medical school.)

The South End: How to explain to you the outer bounds of my South End?

It began where Third Street departed from Winkler as it headed south to Longfield Avenue where Churchill Downs’ property ended. From here it reached westward for Taylor Boulevard; and made a right turn. It drifted north- easterly on Taylor to be swallowed by the curve at Winkler; and finally shot due east where it once more locked arms with Third. [Continued Next Month]

Our Move to South Louisville

Excerpted from: Growing Up in the South End by Dick Bowling

Longfield Ave. Longfield Ave.

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